xxx Prefaceand to gain more expansive understandings of particular
themes.
Each entry includes a bibliography that can serve as
the starting point for more advanced research. All biblio-
graphic entries represent readily available books or articles
written by professional historians and other scholars. Stu-
dents, at various levels, can use the bibliographies to gener-
ate more advanced research inquiries and understandings
into a vast array of topics related to African American his-
tory. In addition, more than 200 illustrations, photographs,
and maps are included to further augment the essays. A
keenly written introduction, along with the four lengthy
section essays, provide the structural framework for the
encyclopedia while a detailed subject index allows readers
greater understanding of historical connections that exist
across chronological and thematic divides in African
American history.
A number of editorial decisions helped provide addi-
tional shape for this undertaking. Given the various con-
troversies surrounding naming and the proper labels for
African Americans, the editors decided to use three main
identifi ers in the encyclopedia—African American, black,
and black American. Whenever possible, the editors tried
to avoid using black as a noun as opposed to an adjective
(as in, “the black sought to vote without intimidation”).
Th e usage of the term—as a singular noun—is jarring and
grating (and it objectifi es human subjects). In the case of
groups residing in Atlantic Africa, the editors try to specify
language cohorts (e.g., Akan-speakers, Ga-speakers, Igbo-
speakers, etc.) and they actively resist the urge to confl ate
precolonial African languages with ethnic identities. Like-
wise, the word “tribe”—a highly problematic, loaded, and
empirically unsound concept—is avoided at all costs in the
encyclopedia.
Another, more diffi cult, editorial decision pertained to
establishing chronological bookends for the encyclopedia.
Th ough the editors did not face the same momentous task
as W. E. B. Du Bois when he began writing the Encyclopedia
Africana, the scope and scale of the current project—from
precolonial Atlantic Africa to the fi rst decade of the 21st
century—meant that a few very recent events were left out
of the encyclopedia. While the reader will note the entry
on Barack Obama, no essays were dedicated in this project
to Hurricane Katrina, the Jena 6, the deaths of John Hope
Franklin and Michael Jackson, and other noteworthy events
directly related to African American history. At some point,
the project simply had to end. In addition, as a work of his-
tory, it is diffi cult to gauge the true historical relevance of
certain events until several decades have passed. It may well
be that some of these recent occurrences will be regarded,
by future observers, as mere blips on the historical radar
and that they will be greatly eclipsed by events over the next
few years. Th e editors leave that particular assessment and
judgment for future scholars to make.